

. 

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Russell Brothers , Printers , cor. Centre and Reade Streets , W. 7*. 


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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by the 
MAXIM GAS MACHINE COMPANY OF NEW YORK, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 


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INTRODUCTION. 


The Maxim Gas Machine Company do not pretend, that in pub¬ 
lishing this pamphlet they are influenced by any other motive 
than that of advertising their own business. Nevertheless, they 
invite the closest investigation and inquiry into the statements 
herein contained. 

They have been careful throughout to ask the reader to be¬ 
lieve as little as possible upon their bare assertions, but have pre¬ 
ferred to give as plain and straightforward an elucidation of the 
nature of gasoline, and of the laws affecting its evaporation and 
subsequent solution in air, in the form of air-gas, as the scope of 
this pamphlet would permit, so that the reader might be able to 
make his own deductions and form his own conclusions. 

Most of these intending to purchase gas machines are already 
acquainted with the general laws and principles here laid down, 
and know them to be correct, and those who are not have among 
their friends those fully competent to judge of such matters. 

To these The Maxim Gas Machine Company would say: Take 
nothing for granted because we assert it. We do not pretend to 
do more than give your inquiries a proper direction, and where 
we make assertions we invariably deduce them from well known 
chemical and physical laws, which we have merely quoted, as they 
are to be found in any elementary work upon chemistry or natural 
philosophy. 


























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PORTABLE GAS MACHINES. 


(1.) Up to the time of the discovery of petroleum the substan¬ 
ces mostly employed for the manufacture of gas on a small scale 
were oil, refuse fat and resin—the latter being much used even in 
small towns—but the use of these substances is attended with more 
trouble than the public generally are willing to take, and requires 
more skill than most people possess, so that on the whole pre¬ 
ference was given to lamps and candles. 

(2.) The discovery of pretroleum has, however, afforded a new 
and apparently inexhaustible supply of a cheap gas-producing 
material requiring no skill in its manipulation, and affording a 
light which in brilliancy and beauty surpasses that produced by 
the best coal gas. This material is one of the most volatile pro¬ 
ducts of the distillation of pretroleum, and is called gasoline . 

(3.) For the purpose of converting gasoline into gas in the 
most perfect and reliable manner, and with least trouble and ex¬ 
pense, many devices have been used, and much ingenuity and skill, 
and a large amount of labor and capital have been expended. 
This is sufficiently attested by the records of the patent office, 
which show that in the United States alone nearly two hundred 
patents have been issued for gas machines and processes relating 
to the manufacture of gas from gasoline. These, however, are 
all embiaced in and may be reduced to three systems. 

(4.) One application of gasoline to the purposes of illumina¬ 
tion is to manufacture hydrogen gas by any known process, 
and by some suitable device to force this gas over or through 
gasoline, or some porous or fibrous material saturated with it, 
by which means the hydrogen, which has no illuminating power 
of its own, becomes saturated with the rich hydrocarbon vapors 
of the gasoline, and is thus converted into an illuminating agent 
equal to the best coal gas. 

(5.) The second system of making gas from gasoline embraces 
all those devices by means of which a current of common air is 
forced over or through gasoline, or some porous or fibrous 
material saturated or impregnated with it, by which means the 
air becomes carburetted, that is to say impregnated with the rich 
hydrocarbon vapors of the gasoline to such an extent as to admit 
of its being used like ordinary coal gas for the purposes of light 
and heat. 

(6.) The third and latest system is to convert the gasoline into 



4 


vapor or gas by the application of external heat, and then by 
suitable mechanical means to mix the gas or vapor so formed with 
any desired proportion of air. 

G-ASOLINE. 

(7.) Gasoline is one of the lightest products of the distillation of 
petroleum. It is really a light naphtha, and was originally given 
its distinctive appellation of gasoline principally for the pur¬ 
pose of evading the internal revenue tax upon naphtha. 

PETROLEUM. 

(8.) Petroleum cannot be said to be a homogeneous substance, 
but must be looked upon rather as a mixture of an indefinite, and 
apparently unlimited variety of similarly constituted compounds. 
So interminable indeed is the number of these compounds, and so 
infinitesimal are the shades of difference between each member of 
the series and the next in the order of succession, that the only 
practical method of classifying them has been to group the pro¬ 
ducts of distillation into classes, according to their specific gravi¬ 
ties, designating the members of the series belonging to each 
class by one generic name. 

(9.) When petroleum is subjected to distillation the lightest 
and most volatile of the substances which compose it distil over 
at first, the products growing heavier and less volatile as the dis¬ 
tillation proceeds and the heat is increased; and it is by taking 
advantage of this circumstance that the distiller is enabled to 
separate the several oils of which it is composed according to 
any desired classification, the lines of demarcation being deter¬ 
mined by the specific gravity of the liquid which distils over. 
This is what is known by fractional distillation. 

(10.) The classification usually adopted by distillers is as fol¬ 
lows : 

Specific Beaume 

Gravity. Hydrometer. 


All below .664 above 88° is called Chymogene. 


{{ 

from 

.664 to .705 

88° to 70° is called 

Gasoline. 

u 

a 

.705 “ .745 

70° “ 60° “ “ 

Naphtha. 

ii 

a 

.745 “ .785 

60° “ 50° “ “ 

Benzine. 

a 

ii 

.785 “ .854 

50° “ 35° “ “ 

Kerosene. 

a 

It 

.854 “ .953 

35° “ 28° “ “ 

Lubricating Oil. 


GASOLINE. 

(ii.) Gasoline then, is composed of these portions of the 
crude petroleum whose densities range between .664 and .705 
degrees specific gravity, and 88° and 70° Beaume hydrometer. 
It is a very clear and exceedingly limpid liquid, with a slight, 
but not disagreeable odor of petroleum—has an average specific 


5 


gravity of about .680—two thirds the weight of water—and is 
very volatile, its boiling point being about 65° Fahrenheit’s ther¬ 
mometer. It is this low boiling point and consequent property 
of evaporating rapidly at ordinary temperatures which renders it 
peculiarly available for making air-gas. 

(12.) You will now see that when you buy a barrel of gaso¬ 
line at 85° it is not all 85°, but that this is merely its average 
gravity. You will see, too, that like the petroleum from which it 
is derived, it is capable of being divided by fractional distillation 
in a series of liquids, having different boiling points and specific 
gravities, for as distillation or evaporation of the mass proceeds 
the lighter and more volatile portions of the fluid distil over 
first, while the remaining liquid continually grows heavier and 
less volatile, and consequently of less value for making air-gas. 

(13.) From the very nature of gasoline itself, it must now be 
evident that, in selecting a gas machine, you should choose one 
the construction and operation of which are such as to prevent the 
evaporation and absorption of the lighter and more valuable parts 
of the gasoline at first, and the consequent deterioration of the re¬ 
maining liquid to such a degree, that (as often happens) a great 
portion of it has to be thrown away as utterly worthless for gas 
making. 

(14.) You need scarcely be told, that in order to be of uniform 
quality , your gas must be made under uniform conditions —one of 
the most essential being uniformity in the quality of the material 
from which it is made. How is this uniformity to be maintained ? 
In the first place, by buying your gasoline of uniform quality, 
and, in the second, by using a machine into which it is introduced 
gradually and in small quantities, and only as it is used—a ma¬ 
chine which is capable of using up every drop that enters it, and 
does not allow any gasoline that has once entered it to re¬ 
turn to your reservoir, to mix with your remaining sup¬ 
ply and deteriorate its quality. You must be careful that 
the supply of gasoline in your reservoir will not have its 
lighter and more valuable parts used up at first, but will 
continue of uniform quality from the beginning to the end, 
thereby insuring uniformity in the quality of your gas. 

EVAPORATION. 

(15.) Having been told so much of the nature of gasoline it¬ 
self, you may now wish to learn something of the phenomena at¬ 
tending its conversion into vapor or gas, and the laws which govern 
the solution and absorption of this vapor by air or whatever other 
menstruum may be used. 

(16.) Bv evaporation of a liquid is meant its conversion into 


6 


vapor. Most liquids are capable of giving off vapor at nearly 
every temperature, the extent and rapidity of the process being in¬ 
variably augmented by heat. 

. m The boiling point of liquids is that temperature at which 
they boil, under the usual atmospheric pressure, 30 inches of mer¬ 
cury. This temperature differs for different liquids—the boiling 
point of water being 212° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, while (sec. 
11) that of gasolime, is about 65°. At 30 inches barometrical 
pressure you cannot heat water beyond 212°, but if you continue 
to apply heat after it has reached that temperature you will convert 
it all into vapor or steam. 

(18.) Now, suppose you measure a gallon of water and apply 
heat until it has been all evaporated, you will find that the quan¬ 
tity of heat which it has taken to evaporate the water has been 
about five times as much as would have been required to raise its 
temperature from the freezing to the boiling point. The ther¬ 
mometer will not detect any excess of temperature over 212° in 
either the water or the steam, and yet the heat is contained in the 
steam, having been absorbed and rendered latent in it at the mo¬ 
ment of its formation. 

(19 .) Whenever a liquid is converted into vapor, by any pro¬ 
cess whatever, a large amount of heat is absorbed and rendered 
latent in the vapor at the instant of its formation. Such absorp¬ 
tion being an absolute condition of the change of form which the 
liquid undergoes, and because the presence of this heat in the 
vapor cannot be detected by the thermometer, it is called latent 
or hidden heat. 

(20.) In the experiment described (sec. 18) external heat has been 
applied, and the heat necessary to the evaporation of the water 
has been derived from that source. Suppose, now, that instead of 
applying external heat you employ other means of evaporation, 
and see what the effect will be. Suppose, by means of an air- 
pump, you form and maintain a vacuum under a receiver con¬ 
taining some volatile liquid; you can thus produce evaporation as 
rapidly as by the application of external heat. 

(21.) As an absolute essential of its formation and existence 
every atom of vapor formed must absorb and render latent within 
it a certain amount of heat (sec. 19). You have seen that the water 
has drawn this heat from an external source (sec. 18). In the 
present experiment no external heat is applied and the inevitable 
consequence will be that the heat necessary to the formation of 
the vapor must be derived from the remaining liquid. This is in 
truth the plan usually pursued in the artificial production of ice. 
The cold produced by the evaporation of one or another volatile 
liquid is so intense, that water is instantly frozen, and it is now 


7 


proposed by the same means to convert the holds of ships into 
huge refrigerators, and thus transport whole cargoes of fresh meat, 
in a frozen state, between the most distant parts of the world. 

(22.) Exactly the same effects take place when a rapid and 
continuous current of air, or some other evaporating medium is 
forced through a volatile liquid, or through a porous or fibrous 
material, saturated therewith ; the inevitable result being a rapid 
evaporation and a corresponding depression of temperature. 

(23.) In a word, rapid and continued evaporation, in whatever 
manner produced, cannot take place without producing great de¬ 
pression of temperature in the remaining liquid, and the heat 
absorbed by the vapor must be restored from some external source, 
or the depression of temperature induced will inevitably check alto¬ 
gether the evaporation which has produced it. 

CAPACITY OF LIQUIDS FOR MOISTURE. 

(24.) Depression of temperature not only checks evaporation, 
but it also lessens, in a most extraordinary degree, the capacity of 
air or other gaseous menstruum for retaining vapor already ab¬ 
sorbed and held in solution. It is well known that the capacity of 
air or gases for dissolving and retaining in solution other sub¬ 
stances is increased or diminished by every increase or diminution 
of temperature, but few persons are aware of the extent to which 
this effect takes place. Professor Leslie says, “ That while the 
temperature itself advances uniformly in arithmetical progression, 
the dissolving power which this communicates to the air mounts 
with the accelerating rapidity of a geometrical series,” as shown by 
the table: 

(25.) Temperature of the air. Saturating weight of moisture. 


32° 

Fahrenheit. ... 

.... l-150th. 

59° 

n 

.... l-80th. 

86° 

u 

.... l-40th. 

113° 

a- 

.... l-20th. 

140° 

u 

.... l-10th. 


Thus it will be seen, that rapid and continued evaporation not 
only deprives the evaporating medium of its caloric, so as to 
check all further formation of vapor, but, at the same time, the 
depression of temperature produced must deprive it to a great 
extent of its capacity for retaining in solution vapor already 
formed and absorbed. 

REQUISITES OF A GOOD GAS MACHINE. 

(26.) Having inquired into the. nature of the material used, 
and the laws by which its evaporation and conversion into illumi¬ 
nating gas are governed, let us now see what the requisites of a 







8 


good gas machine are. It should be safe, reliable, economical, 
durable, compact and simple, and moreover, should not be pro¬ 
ductive of any effects injurious to health; these being absolute 
requirements to which every good gas machine should conform, 
and constituting a fair and safe standard by which to judge of the 
respective merits of the several systems of gas making in use. 

HYDROGEN MACHINES. 

(27.) The process of making hydrogen gas in portable gas 
machines is simply this. Iron turnings are dissolved in sulphuric 
acid, diluted with five or six times its bulk of water. The iron 
and acid combine with oxygen derived from the decomposition 
of a portion of the water, and form sulphate of iron or copperas, 
while the hydrogen of the decomposed water is set free. By a 
simple arrangement of the machine, gas is prevented from being 
formed faster than it is required for use, and as fast as formed is 
forced over or through a mass of porous or fibrous material, 
saturated with gasoline. The gas produced gives a rich, clear and 
beautiful light, fully equal if not superior to the best coal gas. 

(28.) A great many devices have been patented for making 
illuminating gas by dissolving hydrocarbon vapors in hydrogen, 
but without a single exception they have all been modifica¬ 
tions of the well known philosophical lamp invented by Dr. Hare, 
some forty years ago. A good deal of money has been made by 
selling these patents, but none of the patentees have attempted to 
make a business of making and selling machines , which is the very 
best evidence in the world that they have no faith in their own 
devices, and that for all practical purposes they are an utter 
failure. 

THE GAS COSTS TOO MUCH. 

(29.) It has been stated (27) that hydrogen gas is usually pro¬ 
duced by the decomposition of water, by means of sulphuric acid 
and iron, which is strictly a chemical process. Now, it is a well 
established chemical fact that different forms of matter can enter 
into combination with each other only in certain definite and well 
ascertained proportions, which are termed the combining equiva¬ 
lents of these bodies. 

(30.) The combining equivalents and cost of sulphuric acid, 
iron and water are about as follows: 


49 lbs. sulphuric acid, @ 3c...$1 47 

28 “ iron turnings, “ lc. 0 28 

9 “ water. 0 00 


$1 75 

Let us now see how much hydrogen gas can be made from the 






9 


above materials. Nine pounds of water contain exactly one 
pound = 7,000 grains of hydrogen gas, which is all that can pos¬ 
sibly be made from its decomposition. Now, 100 cubic inches of 
hydrogen gas‘weigh 2,116 grains. Therefore, ^i, 1 ” will give 
330,813 cubic inches =191^- cubic feet of hydrogen gas, at a cost 
of $1.75. 

(31.) This is merely the theoretical result; but in practice, and 
especially in the hands of those who are not experts, 75 per cent, 
of the above may be considered a fair yield, for it must be re¬ 
membered that even in the hands of an expert practical man 
results seldom come fully up to the theoretical yield. Therefore, 
191Jxf will give 143J cubic feet of hydrogen gas, at a cost 
of $1.75, which is at the rate of $12.19 per 1,000 cubic feet. 

(32.) One thousand cubic feet of hydrogen gas will be increased 
to about 1,250 feet by the absorption of the vapor from nine gal¬ 
lons of gasoline, worth about $2; so, by adding the cost of the 
gasoline to that of the hydrogen, we have $14.19 as the cost of 
1,250 cubic feet of gas, which is at the rate of $11.27 per 1,000. 

HYDROGEN MACHINES ARE UNSAFE. 

(33.) They require a great deal of handling, emptying, filling, 
&c.; and a reference to the report of the Committee on Gas Ma¬ 
chines to the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, adopted 
October 20th, 1869, will show that herein lies the chief element 
of danger. 

HYDROGEN MACHINES ARE NOT PRACTICAL 
OR RELIABLE. 

(34.) From the great expense of running hydrogen machines, 
and their extremely small capacity, in proportion to the great 
bulk of material requiring to be handled, they have been used as 
philosophical toys, or for experiment, more than for any practical 
purpose. Indeed, their capacity is so limited, that it is very doubt¬ 
ful whether one of them has ever been made capable of running 
twenty burners for twelve consecutive hours. They do very well 
to show a few lights and to sell patent rights with, but beyond this 
there is nothing in them. Consider for a moment that it requires 
280 lbs. (nearly two carboys) of sulphuric acid, 200 lbs. of iron 
borings, and about two barrels of water to make 1,000 feet of 
hydrogen gas. 

(35.) Who would have all this about his house, especially 
when it is borne in mind that every time the machine is opened 
to renew the charge, all this refuse has to be removed, and is 
sure to evolve a large volume of sulphureted hydrogen gas, which 
fills the entire house and premises with a nauseous odor resem¬ 
bling that of rotten eggs, and moreover has the pleasant property 



10 


of tarnishing gilding and silver-ware and destroying mineral 
paints and dyes ? 

THE G-AS IS UNHEALTHY. 

(36.) It must be remembered that none but a very impure acid 
can be bought for three cents, the pure acid being worth eight 
or ten times as much. The greater part of the cheap sulphuric 
acid of commerce is made from iron pyrites, which it is well 
known are scarcely ever found free from arsenic, and consequently 
the sulphuric acid made from them is largely contaminated with 
this metal, which impregnates the gas and is carried over into the 
flame, where it is converted by combustion into the white arsenic 
so well known as a virulent poison. It is scarcely necessary to 
say that the inhalation of air contaminated by its presence must 
be injurious to health. 

(37.) From the foregoing considerations it must be evident that 
hydrogen machines cannot be looked upon us as economical, 
practical, safe or reliable ; and, if there were no other proof of 
this, it is to be found in the fact, that the proprietors of these ma¬ 
chines are all very anxious to sell patent rights, while few if any 
of them care to pursue the legitimate business of making and selling 
machines. 

AIR-GAS MACHINES. 

(38.) Let us now turn to the system of carbureting air by 
forcing it over or through gasoline, or over or through some porous 
or fibrous material saturated therewith. Machines of this sort 
may be divided into two classes—being these which rely solely 
upon the air to furnish the necessary caloric (secs. 19 and 23) 
and those which supplement the atmospheric temperature by the 
application of external heat. Let us now see whether it is possible 
to make a safe, reliable and economical gas machine upon this 
system, either with or without the application of external heat. 

(39.) To save trouble, let us admit that the hundred and fifty 
or more machines of this class are all perfect in their construction 
and operation. Let us admit everything else that is claimed for 
them, and let us come at once to the main questions of safety, 
economy and reliability. Is every element of danger removed 
or controlled? Do they manufacture gas as cheaply as it can be 
made from the materials used? Can they make gas at all in cold 
weather? Will they make gas continuously and of uniform qual¬ 
ity in any weather? Is it possible to make a thoroughly reliable 
gas machine upon this plan ? 

AIR-BLOWING- MACHINES ARE NOT SAFE. 

(40.) Because they usually contain large quantities of gasoline. 
Because they require a great deal of attention, during which the 


11 


gasoline undergoes much handling, filling, drawing off residuum, 
&c. Because they are absolutely unable to control the relative ‘pro¬ 
portions of gas and air , so that when burning but few lights in 
warm weather, and even in cold weather, when external heat is 
applied they are liable to accidents (sec. 53). 

AIR-BLOWING- MACHINES ARE NOT ECONO¬ 
MICAL. 

(41.) Because few if any of them are able to use up more than 
three fifths of the gasoline in cold weather, unless external heat is 
applied, and this is often attended with disastrous consequences 
(sec. 53). 

AIR-BLOWING MACHINES ARE NOT RELIABLE. 

(42.) In using these machines the common practice is to ope¬ 
rate upon large bodies of gasoline at one time. It has been shown 
(sec. 12) that whenever a body of gasoline is evaporated the 
lighter and more valuable portions escape at first, the remainder 
growing continually heavier until its gravity falls so low that it 
is no longer fit for use. In a word, from the moment you com¬ 
mence to use a barrel of gasoline in one of these machines its grav¬ 
ity begins to fall. 

(43.) The necessary consequence of this constant deterioration 
of the liquid in the machine must inevitably be a proportionate 
deterioration in the quality of the gas produced. This is not felt 
very much in summer, when the temperature of the atmosphere 
is sufficiently high to vaporize the lowest grades of gasoline, and 
when but a few lights are burned, and these only for a few hours 
at a time. But it becomes a serious matter in winter, when for 
the greater part of the time the temperature is so low that it 
scarcely suffices to vaporize the lighter grades of gasoline, and 
when, moreover, the nights are long and a great number of lights 
are used and for many consecutive hours (secs. 22 and 23). In¬ 
deed, a careful inquiry will establish the fact that any gas machine 
which operates upon large bodies of gasoline at one time cannot be 
relied upon to make gas for any continuous length of time in large 
quantities , or of uniform quality. 

(44.) If the quality of the gas be affected by the gravity of the 
liquid, it must be equally so by the temperature of the air (sec. 
16). You need scarcely be told that the quality of your gas will 
depend upon the quantity of vapor generated and absorbed by the 
air in its passage over or through the gasoline. Consequently, 
where atmospheric evaporation is relied on, as it is in air-blowing 
gas machines, the quality of your gas must be influenced by every 
change of the temperature of the atmosphere. Therefore , a ma¬ 
chine which is not independent of atmospheric changes cannot make 


12 


gas of a uniform quality , and cannot be looked upon as re¬ 
liable. 

(45.) If the quality of the gas be injuriously affected by atmos¬ 
pheric changes, how much more must it be influenced by the great 
depression of temperature which takes place not only in the air, but 
even in the gasoline itself , in consequence of the cold produced by 
its own evaporation (secs. 22 and 23). Where a person has a 
large machine and burns but a few lights, and these only for 
a short time, these effects are not felt to any great extent, 
for the small amount of vapor formed cannot absorb heat suf¬ 
ficient to lower the temperature of the large body of gasoline 
within the machine to any great extent, and then there will prob¬ 
ably be an interval of eighteen or twenty hours during which 
there will be no lights burned, and the liquid will have time to 
recover from the surrounding air the caloric it has lost the pre¬ 
vious night. 

(46.) A man will put a fifty-light machine into his house, and 
very likely will seldom burn more than ten lights, consequently 
he gets all the light he wants and gets along very well with his 
machine. This is no test. 

(47.) If you wish to test a gas machine, put on the full number 
of burners it is rated at, and see whether it will run for twenty- 
four or even twelve hours continuously and without any change in 
the quality of the gas. No air-blowing machine ever made could 
stand such a test without the aid of external heat , for the intense 
cold produced within it by the rapid and continued evaporation 
(secs. 22 and 23) would stop the production of gas and put the 
lights out in half the time. We need scarcely add that a fifty- 
light machine which is unable to supply gas for fifty or forty or 
even thirty lights for any continuous length of time is not reliable. 

(48.) You cannot expect to make gas at a uniform rate of 
production or of uniform quality except under uniform conditions. 
How is it possible for these to exist in machines in which the grav¬ 
ity of the gasoline and the temperature of that as well as of the air 
are continually and unavoidably changing ? How can you expect 
any result but failure, if your machine is not constructed so as to 
preserve a uniform gravity of the one and a uniform temperature 
of both? 

APPLICATION OF HEAT. 

(49.) These causes of failure have been long felt and under¬ 
stood, and gas machine makers have tried to remedy them by 
one ingenious device or the other. Many feed the gasoline to 
their machines from convenient reservoirs, and in quantities of a 
few gallons at a time ; and some have attempted , and only attempted , 
to supply the caloric lost by evaporation , by the application of ex- 


13 


ternal heat, the cause of their failure being inability to control the 
extent of the evaporation and consequent quality of the gas. 

(50.) It must be remembered that a definite amount of heat 
applied to the gasoline will be certain to produce a proportionate 
amount of evaporation, without any regard to the number of burn¬ 
ers in use. Now, if you light fifty burners, and by any suitable 
application of heat succeed in maintaining your gasoline at a uni¬ 
form temperature, your gas will be of uniform quality, at least so 
far as it is affected by the temperature, and so long as the number 
of burners in use continues the same. 

(51.) Suppose now you turnoff ten burners, the evaporation 
proceeds just as rapidly as when all were lighted, and consequently 
your gas is too rich, and smokes. Turn off ten or fifteen more 
burners, and matters become worse ; for not only do the lights 
smoke worse than before, but the slightest depression of tempera¬ 
ture causes the precipitation, or, as it is usually called, the con¬ 
densation in the pipes of a large amount of the vapor with which 
the air is overcharged. 

(52.) How will it be if you turn off all the lights but five or 
six? Why your gasoline will give off just as much vapor as 
when you were burning fifty, and, instead of having your pipes 
filled with vapor and air in the proper proportions, you will have 
them filled with nearly pure vapor, and consequently you will be 
troubled with smoky lights, and an enormous amount of conden¬ 
sation. 

(53.) This has been the cause of many sad accidents; for 
whenever a large amount of condensation takes place, as it is sure 
to do under the circumstances just described , it is very likely to 
occur that some of the chandeliers or other pendant lights will 
get filled with liquid, so that when the burners are turned on and 
a match applied they will most probably spout the burning gas¬ 
oline over the person and furniture. 

(54.) The truth of the matter is, nobody has yet found out how 
to heat the body of gasoline in the machine so as to make it give 
off the exact amount of vapor required, whether for one burner 
or fifty. Consequently these air-blowing machines in which it is 
attempted to supplement the atmospheric temperature , by the appli¬ 
cation of external heat , are no better than those which rely solely 
upon the temperature of the air itself , and may be pronounced far 
more unsafe and equally unreliable. They can make gas well 
enough , but they are a failure , an absolute failure , because they 

AFFORD NO MEANS OF CONTROLLING THE PROPORTIONS OF AIR AND 
VAPOR, AND CONSEQUENT QUALITY OF THE GAS. 


14 


THE MAXIM GAS MACHINE. 

(55.) The reader of the foregoing pages will scarcely be sur¬ 
prised to learn, that the history of the portable gas machine busi¬ 
ness has hitherto been an unbroken record of failures, disappoint¬ 
ment and pecuniary disaster, not only to the purchasers but also 
to the manufacturers of machines, as will be attested by the hun¬ 
dreds who have been ruined in the vain endeavor to build a le¬ 
gitimate business upon the manufacture of machines, in many, if 
not most instances, designed and constructed by parties ignorant 
of the first principles involved, and as will be also attested by the 
many thousands who have unsuccessfully tried not only one, but 
several machines successively, and, after all, have been compelled 
to give up gas and return to lamps and candles. 

(56.) This was pretty much the state of the gas machine busi¬ 
ness, when in 1866, Mr. Hiram S. Maxim, who for many years 
had been engaged in designing and constructing many of the 
leading gas machines, and who had thus an excellent opportunity 
of studying their several peculiarities and defects, determined to 
leave the beaten track and endeavor to turn to account these chemi¬ 
cal and physical laws to the agency of which others had owed their 
failure. 

(57.) As has been already stated, he saw that the air-gas ma¬ 
chine makers who had endeavored to supplement the atmos¬ 
pheric temperature by the application of external heat were upon 
the right track, inasmuch as they had thus made themselves indepen¬ 
dent of atmospheric changes (Secs. 16 and 48), and he justly as- 
scribed their failure (Secs. 51 to 54) not to their having applied 
heat, but to their not being able to control its effects; not to 
the fact of their having generated vapor by the application of heat, 
but to their failure to devise some means of mixing this vapor in 
the proper proportion with air. 

(58.) After long and patient experiment, Mr. Maxim at length 
succeeded not only in controlling the proportions of the mixture 
of vapor and air, but also in utilizing the pressure of the vapor 
itself as a power not only to supply the amount of air required, 
but also to control and regulate with absolute and unerring cer¬ 
tainty the proportions of vapor and air, and consequent quality 
of the gas, the result being tne Maxim Gas Machine, in the in¬ 
terest of which this pamphlet is written, and which is claimed to be 
the only practical and reliable air-gas machine ever constructed. 

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE 
MAXIM MACHINE. 

(59.) The Maxim Gas Machine is the only one constructed 
upon the principle described (Sec. 6), and is claimed to be the only 


15 


air-gas machine which is completely independent of atmospheric 
changes, and which is constructed so as to control and regulate 
with absolute and unerring certainty the proportions of vapor 
and air, and consequent quality of the gas. It is also claimed to 
he the only portable gas machine tohich is perfectly safe, reliable , 
economical , durable , compact and simple. Let us now see whether 
this is so; let us examine in detail the construction and operation 
of the machine; let us see whether it has or has not overcome 
the difficulties to which other machines owe their failure, and let 
us inquire whether it combines within itself the requirements of 
a good gas machine as laid down (Sec. 26). 














































16 


(60.) The following description and plates will sufficiently ex¬ 
plain the construction and operation of the machine, figure 1 be¬ 
ing a vertical section of the top or diaphragm, and jet, with the 
retort and connecting pipe; and figure 2 being a similar section of 
the gas house showing the method of setting and arranging the ma¬ 
chine, tank, &c. 

(61.) The heater or retort A is shown as it would appear 
internally, and will readily sustain a pressure of three hundred 
pounds. The pipe b leads to the supply tank, while that indi¬ 
cated by c, connects it with the “ top” or chamber D, used as a 
reservoir or gas holder, and covered by an air tight, flexible dia¬ 
phragm, which, by rising or falling, operates a valve at e. This 
valve and the mechanism which operates it are not shown. 
When the machine is cold, and not in operation, the gasoline in 
the supply tank, influenced by the air pressure (which we will 
call 30 lbs. to the square inch), fills the heater up to the valve e 
with a pressure of 30 lbs. The machine is started by igniting 
alcohol in the cup k, and when the heat created is sufficient to 
form vapor under 30 lbs. pressure, the gas begins to collect at c, 
and as the heat increases, the liquid is forced back against the 30 
lbs. pressure in the tank, until it stands at the point m, leaving 
the space v filled with vapor at a high tension, and under a pres¬ 
sure of 30 lbs. which , however the heat may be increased, it can 
never exceed, for the slightest excess of pressure forces the liquid 
back though the connecting pipe into the tank, thus removing it 
from the heat and establishing an equilibrium of pressure between 
the gas in the retort and the compressed air in the tank. Under 
the pressure of 30 lbs., or thereabouts, the gas is forced through 
the jetyj into and through the pipe g, so as to form a vacuum and 
induce a sufficient supply of air through the air valve h , figure 1. 
The gas is now ready for use, and is forced into the pipes by the 
pressure of a weight upon the flexible diaphragm on top of the 
chamber D. 

INDUCTION. 

(62.) The principle of induction is simply this: that a liquid or 
vapor forced at a high velocity through a small jet and directed 
through a larger opening induces , that is to sav, carries in with it 
a larger volume of any intervening fluid, in the Maxim Gas 
Machine the inductive power of a jet of vapor forced at a high 
velocity through a small opening, and directed into the mouth of 
a pipe, induces and carries with it a large volume of air, thus 
taking the place of the old fashioned, cumbrous pump, its compli¬ 
cation of wheels, its wire ropes and enormous driving weight. 
Not only does it do this, it goes further and affords a certain and 
unerring means of regulating and controlling the proportions of 
vapor and air, so as to furnish gas of any desired quality, and 
maintain that quality unchanged for any desired length of time , 
with the machine running to its fullest capacity, 





mu my. 

















































































































18 


THE MAXIM MACHINE IS SAFE. 

(63.) Let us now see whether in its construction and operation 
the Maxim Machine comes fully up to the standard laid down 
(Sec. 26). As shown in fig. 2, the tank containing the gasoline is 
placed not only outside the building to be lighted but even out¬ 
side the building containing the machine itself \ and is buried in 
the ground. This tank is tested to stand a pressure of 150 lbs.— 
five times as much as it is ever subjected to—and instead, as has 
been customary, of building vaults which are simply reservoirs 
for explosive gases, it is covered up in the ground, so that even if 
a leak should occur, there would be no place around it for the ac¬ 
cumulation of gas, and even then it is placed in the open air out¬ 
side of any building, so that even if an accident did occur it could 
not do any harm. 

(64.) It has been already stated that air is forced into a tank 
until a pressure of 30 lbs. is reached. This air is used for pres¬ 
sure only , so that hydrostatic pressure will suit equally well where 
it is available. Immediately upon being forced into the tank it 
becomes so highly saturated with the vapor of the gasoline in the 
tank that it will not even burn , much less explode, without the further 
addition of twice its volume of pure air. Now, in case a leak should 
occur in the tank, and the escaping gas, as it may now be called, 
should take fire, it would merely burn just as if it issued from a 
large burner, but no fire could possibly enter the tank against the 
pressure of the escaping gas, any more than it could enter an ordi¬ 
nary gas pipe through the burner; so that at least, as far as the 
tank and the supply of gasoline it contains are concerned, the Maxim 
Machine may be regarded as safe. 

(65.) The contrary is the case with air-blowing machines, for 
the best of them are constructed so that a vacuum may be formed 
within the machine by a hitch in, or an accident to, the driving 
weights or pulleys, or by the breaking of the wire rope, the con¬ 
sequence being that in case of fire being brought near the machine it 
would be sucked into it, and most probably would cause an explosion. 

(68.) It may here be said that the Maxim Machine cannot 
be safe because fire is applied to gasoline, which is just the same 
as applying it to so much gunpowder. The answer is, that 
gunpowder contains within itself the oxygen necessary to its 
complete combustion and explosion, and will surely explode 
as soon as it is heated to a certain temperature. Gasoline 
contains no oxygen whatever, so that you may heat its vapor 
to a white heat without either burning or exploding it, pro¬ 
vided you confine it in a close vessel so as to exclude the air ; and it 
must be remembered that the retort in which the gasoline is heated 
is capable of standing a pressure of 300 lbs. to the square inch. 




19 


How much safer is this than a kerosene lamp ? Most of the kero¬ 
sene sold is largely adulterated with naphtha ; and it is well known 
that the presence of one quart of naphtha in a barrel of kerosene 
oil will render the mass nearly as explosive as if it was all naphtha; 
yet no person has any hesitation about using this oil in a thin 
glass lamp, where the flame is brought within two or three 
inches of the fluid, while in the machine the gasoline is completely 
excluded from communication with the fire, and is confined in a 
retort so strong that there is no possibility of bursting it. Again, 
the lamp is filled every day within doors, and is liable to be 
broken at any moment in being carried about the house; while 
the gasoline tank requires to be filled but every two or three 
months, and this outside of any building, and there is no carrying 
round of an explosive compound in a glass vessel and with a 
light burning within a few inches of it. 

(67.) It has been already stated that the retort, though required 
to stand a pressure of but 30 lbs., is made of sufficient strength 
to stand 300 (Sec. 61). When in operation the machine never 
contains more than a gill of gasoline. The tank will stand 
a pressure of 150 lbs., is placed outside of any building, and is 
filled in daylight at intervals of two or three months, and as an 
additional element of safety is provided with an automatic valve, 
so constructed that in case of a break or other accident to the 
supply pipe or the machine itself it would instantly close the tank 
so as to prevent the further escape of a single drop. 

(68.) It must not be forgotten that a most essential element 
of safety in the Maxim Gas Machine is, that as all the gasoline 
is used up, there is no residuum to be drawn off, and there is no 
filling or handling of gasoline to be done in the house or at the 
machine itself, and a reference to the report of the Committee on 
Gas Machines of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, adop¬ 
ted October 20th, 1869, will show that hereby the chief element of 
danger is removed. 

CAUTION. 

(69.) In what has been said of the safety of the Maxim Gas 
Machine, there is no intention whatever of deceiving or misleading 
any person as to the really dangerous nature of gasoline. On the 
contrary, the greatest care in handling it cannot be too earnestly 
recommended to those who use it. No handling , or filling, or em- 
tying of gasoline should be done within doors upon any pretext 
whatever, and never by any chance should any of these be done 
by the light of a lamp or candle , or in the neighborhood of fire 
of any sort. But here, with the gasoline itself and the handling of 
it, the danger ends. In the management and use of the machine 
itself there is no more danger than there is in the use of a stove ; 
and the Maxim Gas Machine Company claim, that with ordinary 


20 


care and prudence, it is as safe as any man can reasonably expect, 
and furthermore, that it is the safest gas machine ever made. 

THE MAXIM MACHINE IS PERFECTLY RELI¬ 
ABLE. 

(70.) Because by the application of heat it becomes practica¬ 
bly independent of atmospheric changes, as well as the refrigerating 
effects of evaporation (Secs. 23, 44 to 47), for the heat necessary 
to the formation of vapor is drawn from an external source , and 
consequently the machine is capable of running to its fullest ca¬ 
pacity for any desired length of time without the slightest falling 
off in the quantity or quality of the gas produced. 

(71.) It may be said, however, that other machines can employ 
heat as well as the Maxim, and consequently must be equally re¬ 
liable. To this it may be answered, that the application of heat 
to other machines is a failure, because they apply it to the main body 
of the gasoline, and because they afford no means of regulating the 
quantity of vapor formed or of mixing it in proper proportions 
with air (Secs. 49 to 54), while by means of its air valve the Max¬ 
im Machine can regulate and control these proportions with the 
greatest nicety. In air-blowing machines the amount of vapor ab¬ 
sorbed by the air is a, mere matter of chance (Sec. 54), while in the 
Maxim the proportions of vapor air and consequent value and per¬ 
manency of the gas can be regulated to a certainty, so that they 
will be always the same without the slightest change whether you are 
using one burner or fifty, or whether you run the machine for one 
or two, or fifty consecutive hours. 

(72.) It is well known that in air-blowing machines the prac¬ 
tice is to operate upon large quantities of gasoline at-one time, 
and it has been shown (Secs. 12 and 13) that the effect of this is, 
that the gravity of the gasoline, and consequently its value for 
making air-gas, must undergo a constant deterioration, in conse¬ 
quence of the fractional distillation to which it is subjected. In 
the Maxim Machine the gasoline is admitted to the retort through 
a small pipe in infinitesimal quantities and only as it is used. All 
the gasoline that enters the retort is completely used up, and none 
can return to the tank to reduce the gravity of the remaining 
liquid which remains always the same, without the slightest change, 
until the last drop is used up. 

BURNERS. 

(73.) In addition, the Maxim is the only air-gas machine 
which is adapted to using the ordinary bats-wing burner. The 
reason of this is, that it is a rule that a very rich gas requires to 
be burned through a small burner and under a high pressure, so 
that being expelled from the burner with some velocity it may 


21 


become largely mixed with air, and thus diluted at a point 
very close to the tip of the burner, while gas of a medium quality, 
requires to be burned through a burner of medium size and under 
a medium pressure, and poor gas requires a large burner and a 
very low pressure. Now it has been shown that the quality of 
the gas made by air-blowing machines must unavoidably undergo 
a constant change (Secs. 12, 21 and 22), and that these machines 
cannot possibly make gas of uniform quality at any two periods 
from the time of putting a charge of gasoline into the machine, 
until as much of it as it is capable of utilizing is used up; 
consequently, the burner which will suit the gas made by 
them at one time will not suit that made at another, and 
as a matter of necessity they are compelled to use the Argand 
burner, which is the only one adapted to burning all qualities of 
gas, both rich and poor, equally well . 

(74.) It has been shown that the Maxim Machine is capable 
of making gas of any desired quality , and retaining that quality 
unchanged, without any regard to atmospheric changes, to the num¬ 
ber of burners in use , or the number of hours they are kept lighted; 
consequently , the gas manufactured by it, being always of the same 
quality, admits of being used in the ordinary bats-wing burner. 


SUMMARY. 


(75.) Taking into consideration these facts: That the Maxim 
is the only machine which is perfectly independent of atmospheric 
changes; that it is the only machine which is capable of regulat¬ 
ing and controlling exactly the proportions of vapor and air, and 
consequent quality of the gas ; that it is the only machine which 
is capable of maintaining the quality of the gas unchanged, with 
the machine running to its fullest capacity, and for any desired 
length of time; that it is the only machine which draws its gaso¬ 
line from the tank in infinitesimal quantities, and allows none to 
return, so that the remaining liquid continues always of the same 
gravity, and without the slightest deterioration, until the last drop 
is used up, and that it is the only air-gas machine which makes 
gas with which the ordinary bats-wing burner can be used, it may 

BE FAIRLY PRONOUNCED NOT ONLY TO BE PERFECTLY RELIABLE, BUT 
ALSO TO BE THE ONLY RELIABLE AIR-GAS MACHINE EVER MADE. 

THE MAXIM MACHINE IS ECONOMICAL, DU¬ 
RABLE, COMPACT AND SIMPLE. 

(76.) That the Maxim Gas Machine must be economical is 




22 




evidenced by the fact that it never leaves any residuum, every 
drop of the gasoline being used up. That it is compact is shown 
by its small size—a machine capable of running five hundred 
lights, occupying a space not more than two feet square by four 
feet high; and that it is durable and simple any person can satisfy 
himself, from the fact that it contains but one or two moving 
parts, and these capable of being replaced at any time at a tri¬ 
fling expense; whereas, the old air-blowing machines require a 
large blowing-wheel, with an expensive complication of cog 
wheels, pullies and ropes, which are constantly breaking and get¬ 
ting out of order. 

CONDENSATION. 

(77.) It is often asked—Is the gas made by the Maxim Machine 
liable to be condensed in the pipes in cold weather? To which 
it may be answered that all illuminating gas, even the best coal 
gas, is in some measure liable to condensation in cold weather, 
and as a rule the richer any gas is, the more apt it is to condense. 
Therefore when it is asserted that the gas made by the Maxim 
Machine is not liable to condensation , the meaning is, that prac¬ 
tically it is not; that it is subject to condensation very little, if 
any, more than coal gas, which it is well known is not affected by 
cold so much as to cause practical inconvenience. 

(78.) It may be said that this is not so ; that in cold weather 
all air-gas condenses to an enormous extent, and that the gas 
made by the Maxim Machine can be no exception to this rule. 

(79.) It has been found by repeated experiments that when air- 
gas is passed very slowly through a coil of pipe immersed in a 
freezing mixture the air will retain in solution vapor sufficient to 
give a good light. There is no doubt whatever but that if an ex¬ 
cess of vapor be present such excess will b s precipitated, or, as it 
is commonly called, condensed as a liquid ; but there is just as 
little doubt that at any temperature to which it may be reduced, 
the air will carry and retain in solution sufficient vapor to give a 
good light (sec. 24 and 25). 

(80.) If now, the gas as it leaves the machine is at the tem¬ 
perature of 70°, Fahrenheit, and the machine be constructed and 
adjusted so as to prevent the air from taking up more vapor than 
it can hold in solution at 32°, it is very evident that if the tem¬ 
perature of the gas be reduced to 32°, there can be no condensa¬ 
tion. For it must be remembered that it is only the excess over 
what the air is capable of holding in solution that is precipitated, 
or condensed. 

(81.) Now the machine has been adjusted so that the air cannot 
be charged with more vapor than it is capable of holding in solu- 


23 


tion at 32°. The air becomes charged with this quantity of vapor 
and no more. There is sufficient vapor present to give a good 
light, but there can be no condensation, for it must be remem¬ 
bered that it is only the excess over the amount of vapor that the 
air is capable of holding in solution which condenses. In the pre¬ 
sent instance the machine has been adjusted so that there cannot 
be present any excess of vapor over what it is capable of holding 
in solution at 32° ; therefore if the temperature be reduced to 
this point there cannot be condensation for there is no excess to be 
condensed. 

(82.) It has been shown that the Maxim Gas Machine is the 
only one the construction and operation of which is such as to 
control, regulate and limit with the most unerring certainty the 
proportions of hydrocarbon vapor with which the air is charged 
(sec. 71), and therefore it may be safely claimed to be the only 
machine capable of making air-gas ivhich is practically free from 
condensation. 

PIPING. 

(83.) All large coal-gas companies usually prescribe a scale 
of piping which they require to be conformed to, the following 
being that usually adopted: 

Size of Maximum Number of 

Pipe. Length Allowable. Burners. 

£ inch. 6 feet. 1 light. 


£ 


2 


20 

30 

50 

70 

100 

150 

200 


3 

6 

20 

35 

60 

100 

200 


(84.) In cities, gas companies usually inspect the piping before 
supplying gas, and require the above scale to be strictly con¬ 
formed to; but in piping country houses, and especially when 
the work is to be done by contract, gas fitters very frequently 
pay very little attention to it. 

(85.) The Maxim Gas Company warrant their machines to give 
a good uniform light through every part of any house piped ac¬ 
cording to the above scale ; but whenever a building is to be piped 
specially for air-gas they would recommend the adoption of a 
scale one size larger than the above—f for \ inch, and correspond¬ 
ing length of pipe and number of lights, and the rest in proportion. 
They would also recommend particular attention to the following 
rules: 

(86.) Never use less than inch riser for any house. 


















24 


(87.) The underground pipe leading from the machine to the 
house should be at least one size larger than the riser. 

(88.) Wherever it can be done, bracket lights should run up 

from the running pipe. 

(89.) All running pipes should have an inclination of about 
one inch in fifty feet toward the machine. 

(90.) It is desirable that all connections made from running 
pipes should be made from the side or top, instead of from the 
bottom of the pipe. 

FIXTURES. 

(91.) Most coal-gas fixtures will suit for air-gas, but of course 
some will suit better than others; consequently it is advisable 
before purchasing to consult those who are acquainted with the 
peculiarities of the gas, and either buy from them or obtain di¬ 
rections as to the best kind. 

(92.) The Maxim Gas Machine Company are prepared to con¬ 
tract to pipe buildings, or make necessary alterations, as also to 
supply fixtures from selected patterns, and at the lowest prices. 
They are also prepared to furnish machines, upon trial, to re¬ 
sponsible parties, to whom they will allow a reasonable time to 
satisfy themselves of their efficient and satisfactory working be¬ 
fore being asked for payment. 

Those desiring further information, either from business motives 
or otherwise, are cordially invited to inspect the working of the 
machine at the office of the 

MAXIM GAS MACHINE CO. OF NEW YORK, 
294 Broadway. 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







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